Here's Why You Will Soon Have To Spend More On A Two-Wheeler

Hero MotoCorp Ltd increased prices of its motorcycles across various variants to shift the burden from rising input costs and a fall in the rupee value, to the consumers. The prices of its entire range were increased by up to Rs 900, although the exact quantum of the rise will vary based on model and the specific market, the company's exchange filing said.

It had increased the prices by Rs 500 last month. The new hike will be effective from 3 October.

Besides the increase in the prices of two-wheelers itself, there are other major changes in policies that will make owning them or replacing them costlier than before.

Insurance coverage

You should know that there are two parts to a motor insurance cover, one covers own vehicle damage (not compulsory to have) and the second covers the loss of life or any damage caused to a third-party (this part of the insurance is compulsory). 1 September onwards, only multi-year third party insurance covers are permitted for two-wheelers, which means that you will have to spend more than before on insurance.

Any new purchase of scooter and motorcycles or renewals of insurance covers now come with 5-year plans. For vehicles between 150 to 350cc, the one-year insurance cover comes for Rs 985 (as per IRDAI website), while a five-year cover comes at Rs 5,453, which means that to buy a cover, you will have to shell out Rs 4,468 more than usual at once.

Update in safety and emission standards

The two-wheeler manufacturers were recently notified by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways that from 1 April 2019, the vehicles are to include either anti-lock braking systems or combined braking systems as per the capacity of the engine. This would further increase the prices of the models. A 125 to 150CC engine capacity vehicle could cost Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 more.

Additionally, the government has decided that from 1 April 2020, vehicles will have to move from BS-IV emissions standard to BS-VI. This is said to change the fuel delivery systems from carburetors to fuel injection and this could again cost Rs 5,000 to Rs 7,000 more per vehicle.